Regional Pre-Owned Manager

ZT Auto•Houston, TX

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

ZT Automotive Group operates a growing portfolio of dealerships across Texas, Florida, Alabama, and Georgia, representing domestic, import, and luxury franchises, and continues to add rooftops. The organization is built on integrity, transparency, and consistency, and invests in technology and process to stay ahead of where the business is going. We are building a corporate Variable Operations team. Corporate exists to support the rooftops. The people in these roles are expected to bring real expertise to our stores and earn the trust of the operators who run them. We are looking for someone who partners with our stores rather than reports on them: building real relationships with General Managers and department leadership, owning the outcome alongside them, understanding how a decision in one department shows up in another, and caring about the health of the store beyond a single number. The Regional Pre-Owned Manager is a full-time role based in Houston, TX, responsible for pre-owned vehicle operations across ZT Automotive Group markets. This role manages inventory strategy, including acquisition, pricing, merchandising, and aging, to optimize profitability and turnover, and owns appraisal discipline and wholesale exposure at the group level. ZT Automotive Group operates under a retail-first inventory philosophy. Every unit capable of passing a safety inspection is retailed, and no appraisal is designated for wholesale disposition prior to service evaluation. The person in this role is responsible for upholding that standard at store level. Daily responsibilities include reviewing market and aging data, guiding appraisal and trade-in practices through the group appraiser scoring process and bid desk procedure, improving acquisition performance across trade capture, service drive acquisition, and off-street purchasing, directing corrective action on aged and at-risk units, reviewing wholesale disposition activity for consistency with group policy, and supporting merchandising and marketing initiatives for pre-owned inventory. The role maintains a consistent weekly cadence with used vehicle managers supported by written follow-up, and manages relationships with auction partners, inventory management vendors, and acquisition service providers. The role works in partnership with the Corporate Manager of New Vehicle Operations on trade capture, with the Regional Director of F&I and Lender Relations on deal structure and approvals, with the Regional Fixed Operations Directors on reconditioning and PDI turnaround and on acquiring vehicles through the service drive without disrupting shop throughput, and with the Corporate Trainer, who is responsible for store-level training and development. This position has no direct reports and works through General Managers, Market Directors, and used vehicle management.

Requirements

Experience in pre-owned or used car operations, including inventory management, pricing, and wholesale and retail strategies.
Working knowledge of appraisal practices, acquisition sourcing, and reconditioning workflow.
Proficiency in analyzing market data, sales reports, and performance metrics to make data-driven decisions.
Ability to coach, influence, and build collaborative relationships across multiple locations without direct supervisory authority.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to represent the organization professionally with auction and vendor partners.
Proven organizational and time-management abilities to manage regional responsibilities and competing priorities.
Comfort with dealership management systems, CRM tools, inventory management and appraisal platforms, and digital merchandising platforms.
An ownership mentality and the ability to build trust with experienced operators.
Based in Houston, Texas. Candidates must live in or be willing to relocate to the Houston area.
Willing to travel to dealership locations across the group’s markets, approximately 50% to 65%, including air travel to markets outside Texas.
High school diploma or equivalent required.
Valid driver’s license and an acceptable driving record.

Nice To Haves

Prior multi-store or regional experience in the automotive industry preferred.
Strong store-level used vehicle leaders ready to step into a group role will be considered.
Post-secondary education in business or a related field is beneficial.

Responsibilities

Manages inventory strategy, including acquisition, pricing, merchandising, and aging, to optimize profitability and turnover.
Owns appraisal discipline and wholesale exposure at the group level.
Upholds the retail-first inventory philosophy at store level.
Reviews market and aging data.
Guides appraisal and trade-in practices through the group appraiser scoring process and bid desk procedure.
Improves acquisition performance across trade capture, service drive acquisition, and off-street purchasing.
Directs corrective action on aged and at-risk units.
Reviews wholesale disposition activity for consistency with group policy.
Supports merchandising and marketing initiatives for pre-owned inventory.
Maintains a consistent weekly cadence with used vehicle managers supported by written follow-up.
Manages relationships with auction partners, inventory management vendors, and acquisition service providers.
Partners with the Corporate Manager of New Vehicle Operations on trade capture.
Partners with the Regional Director of F&I and Lender Relations on deal structure and approvals.
Partners with the Regional Fixed Operations Directors on reconditioning and PDI turnaround and on acquiring vehicles through the service drive without disrupting shop throughput.
Partners with the Corporate Trainer on store-level training and development.
Works through General Managers, Market Directors, and used vehicle management.